Jennifer Parker is an advocate for organ donation and breast cancer awareness. With 35 years of professional experience in healthcare, she is a compelling public speaker and tireless ambassador for patient-centered care.

Parents will do anything for their children. But when one father’s health began to fail, his daughter gave him the most meaningful gift of all: life.

The UAB Division of Transplantation offers liver transplantation for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, only one of a few programs of its kind in the Southeast.

As kidney transplant wait times continue to grow nationwide, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is expanding access to life-sustaining transplants by adopting normothermic machine perfusion performed by 34 Lives, an advanced organ preservation technology shown to improve organ utilization and early transplant outcomes.

The UAB Division of Transplantation recently performed a split-liver transplantation – marking the first use of this life-saving procedure at UAB and Children’s of Alabama (COA) in almost a decade.

When kidney transplant patients at the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute celebrate their first year after transplant, they ring a bell. The bright tone of the “Bell of New Beginnings” resonates throughout the clinic, marking the first anniversary of a journey toward a new chance at life.

Days after finishing her first semester of medical school, Amaris Elston awoke in a hospital room. She felt drained as her body started to adjust to its new reality.

Surgeons with the University of Alabama at Birmingham have achieved a significant milestone in liver transplantation. The institution recently performed its 3,000th adult liver transplant, solidifying its position as a leading center for liver transplantation in the region and nation.

The 2024 Transplant Games of America brought together thousands of participants and spectators July 5-10 in Birmingham, Ala., to create a truly unforgettable experience. UAB Medicine was honored to serve as the presenting medical partner for the Games, which began in 1990 to support the gift of life that organ donation represents and celebrate the individuals and families touched by transplantation.

Ashley Nichols, 32, shares her journey from managing her type 1 diabetes to navigating her rare kidney-pancreas transplant with the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute care team.

People who have received transplants understand that organ transplantation offers a second chance at life. UAB Medicine patients Lucy Emonina and her daughter, Ovuke’ McCoy, share that understanding in a deeper way. They both were born with a serious heart condition and later received heart transplants. Since then, mother and daughter have enjoyed active lives, sharing their stories in various ways and serving as ambassadors for heart health and organ donation awareness.

Tabitha Derryberry, 49, is no stranger to chronic medical conditions. She has lupus, an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks joints, organs, and the skin. And when she was 35, Derryberry learned that her kidneys were failing due to having Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the body’s cells.